Mixer (website)
Chinese Traditional Danish Dutch English Finnish French German Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Polish Portuguese Russian Spanish Swedish Turkish|owner = Microsoft|founders = Matthew Salsamendi James Boehm|website = |alexa rank = 1,665 (August 2019)|commercial = Yes|registration = Optional|launched = January 5, 2016; 3 years ago|current status = Active}} Mixer is a Seattle-based video game live streaming platform owned by Microsoft. The service officially launched on January 5, 2016, as Beam but was renamed Mixer in May 2017. The service carries an emphasis on interactivity, with low stream latency and a platform for allowing viewers to perform actions that can influence a stream. Features Mixer distinguishes itself from other streaming platforms by emphasizing interactivity between streamers and their viewers; the service advertised that there would be latency of less than a second between the original broadcast and when it is received by users, rather than 10–20 seconds. This feature is leveraged by an interactivity platform, where viewers can use buttons displayed alongside a stream to influence the stream (such as voting or influencing gameplay). Users can spend "Sparks" (earned for watching and participating in streams) to activate these interactivity features, and Mixer support can be integrated into games via an SDK. In November 2018, the site unveiled a major update branded as "Season 2", including features launching immediately, and plans for upcoming features. The update added automatic quality adjustment for the player, "Skills"—a feature that can be used to trigger special animations and effects in chat. Some premium skills are purchased using the paid currency "Embers"; channels can receive revenue from Embers spent by their viewers. Partnered streamers can also receive payment bonuses based on the volume of Sparks spent on their channels. In April 2019, Mixer added "Channel Progression"—a level system for tracking users' engagement with a particular channel over time. Users can receive benefits to reward their long-term participation. History Beam launched on January 5, 2016. In May 2016, Beam won the Startup Battlefield competition at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference, receiving $50,000 in equity-free funding. On August 11, 2016, Beam was acquired by Microsoft for an undisclosed amount. The service's team was integrated into the Xbox division. On October 26, 2016, Microsoft announced that Beam would be integrated into Windows 10. Beam broadcasting was also integrated into Xbox One on the March 2017 software update. On May 25, 2017, Microsoft announced that Beam had been renamed Mixer, as the previous name could not be used globally. The re-branding came alongside the introduction of several new features, such as the ability for a user to co-host up to three other streams on their channel at once, as well as the companion mobile app Mixer Create. It was also announced that Mixer would receive top-level integration within the Xbox One dashboard, with a new tab curating Mixer streams. On August 1, 2019, video game streamer Ninja announced that he would move exclusively from the Amazon-owned competitor Twitch to Mixer beginning August 2. The deal was considered to be a major coup for Mixer, as Ninja had been among Twitch's top personalities, with over 14 million followers. See also References External links * Category:Companies Category:2016 establishments in Washington (state) Category:2016 mergers and acquisitions Category:Entertainment companies established in 2016 Category:Internet properties established in 2016 Category:Media companies established in 2016 Category:Microsoft acquisitions Category:Microsoft websites Category:Software companies based in Seattle Category:Software companies established in 2016 Category:Video game streaming services Category:Companies established in 2016